Burning Stuff to the Ground
Well,... and along the way, practicing to put the fires out. I'm a photographer and not a journalist, so I'm going to just let the CoHi Fire Department speak for itself:
"Sat, July 10, 8 am to 2 pm, the Columbia Heights Fire Department will be conducting a live fire training exercise in an abandoned house at 230 40th Ave. The goal of this drill is to practice fire suppression techniques while learning how fire travels and behaves and how to respond. This training will be following the NFPA 1403 Standard. Live burn training will consist of Level I and Level II burns."
"Level I Burns: This level consists of the firefighters kneeling and watching the start of the fire and its growth. The firefighters will observe the first stage incipient fire and its growth to a second stage fire where the flames will start to spread across the ceiling area. At that time the firefighter will make an attack on the fire. The firefighters will rotate, and each will have the opportunity to extinguish the fire. Once all the firefighters have been through the rotation, they will perform overhaul and hydraulic ventilation. This training will be performed within the confines of one room. The main goal of the level I burn is to teach fire behavior in a compartment, as well as communication, fire control, overhaul, SCBA, accountability, and teamwork."
"Level II Burns: Level II burns are more complex. In addition to the interior fire attack training, crews will perform duties such as accountability, size up, reading smoke, structural stability, and risk/benefit analysis. Prior to entering the structure firefighters will demonstrate checking the hose line for proper pressure, volume, nozzle pattern, communications (portable radio), and accountability. Once the team enters the structure the firefighters will demonstrate advancing hose lines, checking for fire victims as they proceed through the building, size up of the interior, attacking a fire, overhauling a fire, ventilation, checking for extension, salvage, working as a team, SCBA air management, communications, CAN Reports, exiting the structure as a team and debriefing with instructor."
"FIRE Inc. conducts the live fire training. The team brings many years of training experience to the table. The lead instructor, Tim Farmer, has over 35 years of firefighter experience on the Coon Rapids fire department, with 15 years as the Chief of the Department. We have used FIRE Inc. on many of the training events we conduct in the fire department. This type of training is ideal because it gives firefighters real-world experience in a controlled setting with multiple instructors on hand."
